Warzone Season 4 Reloaded weapon buffs & nerfs: ARs, Krig, C58, SMGs, MP5, more

Keshav Bhat
players fighting at Verdansk stadium in Warzone

Call of Duty: Warzone Season 4 Reloaded is here, and the team at Raven Software have included made some major changes to the weapons and weapon balancing within Verdansk, with buffs and nerfs for a number of guns across Modern Warfare & Cold War inventory.

Raven Software’s goal is to keep the weapon meta and balancing fresh as part of new updates, allowing more weapons to shine. As first teased with the Season 4 patch notes, Raven has been working to make adjustments to the overall time to kill in Warzone with weapon balancing, and this is fine.

With the launch of the Season 4 Reloaded patch in Warzone on July 15, Raven Software has made a number of adjustments to the weapons in the game, across both Cold War and Modern Warfare weapons.

Raven’s blog describes how they decided to make changes for Season 4 reloaded.

The following changes are our first major step towards increasing the average Time-to-Kill within Warzone. It is important to note that these Weapon adjustments were not made in a vacuum. When evaluating an individual change, some may seem quite drastic, but they were made holistically and in a way that supported a lock-step increase in average TTK across multiple Weapon categories.

Here’s all of the weapons that Raven Software has adjusted in Warzone with the Season 4 Reloaded update.

Assault Rifle updates in Warzone Season 4 Reloaded

Raven Software has made numerous changes to assault rifles, both Modern Warfare and Cold War, in the Season 4 Reloaded patch update.

The newest update includes more nerfs (and a slight buff) for Modern Warfare’s AMAX and a nerf for the Cold War’s C58 rifle.

Other Assault Rife changes in Season 4 Reloaded include buffs for the GRAU, Krig, M13, and QBZ weapons in game. This should make some of the lower performing Assault Rifles more accessible in Warzone.

Here’s the full list of Assault Rifle Changes:

Assault Rifles

  • AK-47 (BOCW)
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.5
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1
  • AK-47 (MW)
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1.1
  • C58 (BOCW) 
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.58
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1
    • Lower Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1
    • Maximum Damage Range increased by 8%
    • Recoil increased
  • CR-56 AMAX (MW)
    • Headshot Multiplier increased from 1.5 to 1.55
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1
  • Assault Rifle Bravo (MW)
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 2.05 to 1.62
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1.1
  • FARA 83 (BOCW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 31 to 29
    • Recoil increased
  • FFAR 1 (BOCW)
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.5 to 1.4
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 27 to 25
    • Minimum Damage decreased from 25 to 23
    • Maximum Damage Range decreased by 20%
    • Neck Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.2
  • Assault Rifle Golf (MW)
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1.1
  • Grau 5.56 (MW)
    • Minimum Damage increased from 22 to 24
  • Groza (BOCW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 28 to 27
    • Maximum Damage Range increased by 4.5%
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.5
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1.12
    • Lower Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1
    • Recoil pattern smoothed
  • Krig 6 (BOCW)
    • Minimum Damage increased from 25 to 26
  • M13 (MW)
    • Minimum Damage increased from 19 to 20
  • Assault Rifle Charlie (MW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 28 to 27
    • Minimum Damage increased from 22 to 23
  • Oden (MW)
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.3 to 1.2
  • QBZ-83 (BOCW)
    • Minimum Damage increased from 22 to 24
    • Base Move Speed reduced by 3%
    • Base ADS Move Speed reduced by 5%
    • Upper Torso Multiplier increased from 1.1 to 1.2
    • Lower Torso Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.1
  • RAM-7 (MW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 28 to 26
  • XM4 (BOCW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 32 to 30
    • Minimum Damage decreased from 28 to 27
    • ADS Speed decreased slightly
    • Recoil increased slightly

LMG changes in Warzone Season 4 Reloaded

Raven Software has made numerous adjustments to Warzone’s LMG offerings to allow for better utilization of some of the weapons.

The LMG changes effect both MW and Cold War LMG guns, as Raven looks to bring the weapons in line with the rest of the classes in game. The M60 and PKM received buffs in the newest update, while the others were nerfed.

Here’s the exact changes for all the LMGs in Warzone with Season 4 Reloaded:

  • M60 (BOCW)
    • Maximum Damage increased from 36 to 37
    • Headshot Multiplier increased from 1.5 to 1.6
  • MG 34 (MW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 31 to 29
    • Minimum Damage decreased from 28 to 27
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.5 to 1.4
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1
  • MG 82 (BOCW)
    • ADS Speed decreased slightly
  • Light Machine Gun Alpha (MW)
    • Maximum Damage increased from 31 to 32
    • Maximum Damage Range decreased by 7%
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1
  • SA87 (MW)
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1.1
  • Light Machine Gun Alpha (BOCW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 34 to 33
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1

SMGs get updated in Season 4 Reloaded

Season 4 Reloaded weapon changes continued with changes to the SMG weapon class in Warzone.

This update includes changes to Modern Warfare’s SMG Alpha, Cold War’s Ak-74u, LC-10, KSP, and more.

Some of the weapons in the SMG class received buffs, like the UZI, while the rest saw nerfs across the ranges, including nerfs to the MAC-10, MP5, and Nail Gun.

Check the list to see all the SMG updates:

  • AK-74u (BOCW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 35 to 31
    • Minimum Damage increased from 25 to 26
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.6
    • Upper Torso Multiplier increased from 1 to 1.1
    • Bullet Velocity increased by 5%
  • Submachine Gun Alpha (MW)
    • Minimum Damage increased from 25 to 26
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.47
  • Bullfrog (BOCW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 32 to 31
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.5
    • Left Upper Arm Multiplier increased from .9 to 1
    • Right Upper Arm Multiplier increased from .9 to 1
    • Left Upper Leg Multiplier increased from .9 to 1
    • Right Upper Leg Multiplier increased from .9 to 1
  • KSP-45 (BOCW)
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.57
  • LC10 (BOCW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 30 to 27
    • Minimum Damage decreased from 25 to 24
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.55
  • Mac-10 (BOCW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 24 to 23
    • Minimum Damage decreased from 20 to 19
  • Milano 821 (BOCW)
    • Recoil increased slightly
    • Maximum Damage range decreased by 12%
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.38
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.2 to 1.1
    • Lower Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.1 to 1
  • Submachine Gun Alpha (BOCW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 33 to 31
    • Minimum Damage decreased from 25 to 24
  • Nail Gun (BOCW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 50 to 46
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.62 to 1.45
    • Upper Torso Multiplier decreased from 1.28 to 1
  • Submachine Gun Echo (MW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 35 to 34
    • Minimum Damage increased from 25 to 26
  • PPSh-41 (BOCW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 28 to 26
  • ISO (MW)
    • Minimum Damage increased from 20 to 21
  • Submachine Gun Delta (MW)
    • Minimum Damage increased from 25 to 26
  • Fennec (MW)
    • Maximum Damage decreased from 25 to 24
    • Minimum Damage decreased from 20 to 19

Additional Changes – Snipers & Tactical Rifles

The Season 4 Reloaded update also includes some minor changes to the Cold War’s Swiss Sniper Rifle, along with changes to the headshot multiplier for the Tactical Rifles.

Here’s the Sniper Rifle & Tactical Rifle changes in Warzone Season 4 Reloaded:

  • Swiss K31 (BOCW)
    • ADS animation updated
    • Now shares a base reticle with the ZRG 20mm

  • Tactical Rifle Charlie (BOCW)
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.8 to 1.7
  • CARV.2 (BOCW)
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.7 to 1.6
  • M16 (BOCW)
    • Headshot Multiplier decreased from 1.8 to 1.6 

Raven to Monitor Weapon Balancing Closely

Raven has confirmed they will continue to monitor weapon balancing in Warzone closely and see how these Season 4 Reloaded updates effect the meta.

“Statistically, there will always be a ‘best weapon’. That is the nature of a competitive game. Players will seek out and employ any advantage they can, regardless of how miniscule it may be. We will take great care to ensure that the ‘best weapon’ never overstays its welcome and has effectiveness that scales with the skill of the handler. Conversely, there are also a great deal of players who prefer a myriad of options to choose from. Our goal is to provide exactly that. We will continue to compress outliers, both over and underperforming, until each Weapon is viable at the very least. We do not want players to feel they are at a distinct disadvantage for not conforming to the generally accepted ‘best weapon’.”

“We will be closely monitoring Weapon performance to ensure the game is in a healthy state following the biggest balance update in the history of Warzone.

For more information on the all of the changes, check the Warzone Season 4 Reloaded patch notes and stay tuned for updates.

Image Credit: Activision / Raven Software

About The Author

Keshav Bhat is the Co-Founder of CharlieIntel.com, the world's largest Call of Duty news site. Based in Atlanta, Keshav also serves as the Head of Social Media for Dexerto network, running a network of over 10 million social followers. Keshav can be contacted for tips at [email protected]